Our awards are split into three thematic areas, recognising the work that associations undertake:
Recognising leadership in engaging with members, their teams and their stakeholders
Recognising associations that drive improvement in their operations and effectiveness
Recognising associations and individuals that demonstrate leadership of our sector
The judges will be looking for any publication produced by or on behalf of a trade association which most engages and serves the needs of its readers.
The publication, which may take any form, should be interesting and appropriate for its purpose, promote the sector and offer excellent value for money. Design, content and ease of use will be considered.
Your submission should state why your association deserves to win this award and must include full details of the intended audience and distribution method together with details of the aim and purpose of the publication.
Electronic copies of the publication must also be included, please upload them as a PDF attachment on the submission portal.
Please ensure all appropriate supporting evidence is included in the submission, such as summary financial information giving details of the costs and revenue generated (if applicable) or other proof of return on investment, as well as feedback from the audience, digital metrics or other performance measures.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
The judges will be looking for an outstanding event run by an association, either physically in the UK or overseas, or online, which will have included particularly relevant and informative content specific to the audience.
The event, which may be held in conjunction with another event, will make innovative use of technology and have attracted exceptional attendee feedback as well as have a proven financial return.
Your submission should state clearly why your association deserves to win this award and must include details on the content along with information about how the event supported the overall aims and objectives of your association.
Please ensure electronic copies of a full budget for the event giving details of the costs and financial return is also submitted as well as a copy of the event programme/agenda and other supporting material that you feel supports your case. This data must include the number of attendees.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
BEIS is leading an economy-wide transformation by backing enterprise and long-term growth, generating cheaper, cleaner, homegrown energy and unleashing the UK as a science superpower through innovation.
Trade associations are key partners with Government in helping businesses succeed. They are a powerful voice in leading, championing and celebrating their sectors. They provide an important two-way channel of communication with the government, representing their member’s needs and aspirations and ensuring these are reflected as far as possible in public policy.
This award will be given to a Trade association or an alliance of trade associations that, in the opinion of the judges, has led the best representative action for their sector at any time in the past year. .
The winning entry will showcase a successful initiative by a trade association to tackle an issue of importance to the future prosperity and growth of its members. BEIS is looking for evidence of effective partnership working which has harnessed the will and power of the sector to deliver something of importance both to the sector and Government priorities.
The winning entry will also demonstrate innovation and good practice in managing relationships with Government and other stakeholders to achieve the desired outcome.
Your submission should explain why your association deserves to win the award and must include details of the background for the initiative and information on the challenges which were overcome as a result of your activities.
Please ensure electronic copies of a full budget for the campaign are included as well as a copy of any documentation or literature produced as part of the initiative. This may include press releases, brochures and other relevant supporting documentation.”
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
The judges will give this award to an association which, in the opinion of the judges, has clearly demonstrated a proactive initiative in the last year, that has clearly demonstrated an increased level of membership engagement.
This may cover levels of activity and effort invested by your membership (for example, time spent on your website or the number of training sessions attended in the past year), or an insight into how well your members are aware of and perceive your activities and how you meet their needs. This initiative will have demonstrated a measurable impact on retention or acquisiton of members joining, or may have significantly stemmed an outflow of members against previous years.
Your submission should state clearly why your association deserves to win this award and must include full membership data showing the effect of the initiative. Membership statistics and a comparison against the previous two years must be included together with details on new members and the number of resignations/terminations as well as a full analysis of trends.
Please ensure electronic copies of a full budget for the initiative are submitted giving details of the costs and financial return on the investment.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
The judges will be looking for any marketing, PR, public affairs or social media campaign or communication produced by or on behalf of a trade association which successfully delivers key organisational objectives.
This campaign or communication may involve members and/or non-members and offer good value for money. This may be for a campaign or a specific issue or perhaps for a sustained series of communications over a longer timeframe.
Your submission should state clearly why your association deserves to win this award and must include information on the purpose, basis and frequency of the communication in the campaign together with evidence of the impact/benefit this may have had on members/non-members of your organisation.
If applicable, information on the level of traffic to your website should be included together with details of any linked websites which are relevant.
Please ensure electronic copies of a budget with full details of the costs and revenues for the campaign are also submitted as well as copies of the campaign materials and/or communications which may have been sent.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
This award recognises innovation in any aspect of your trade association’s activities. The judges will be looking for the successful implementation of any new idea, whether that is a process, product or technical innovation.
The past few years have been extremely challenging for Trade Associations who have had to transform and innovate at pace and scale to continue to deliver the services and support that members have needed.
Judges will be looking for examples of innovation across all areas of trade association activity, particularly where associations have led their sectors, innovated, implemented new ways of working, moved services online or achieved commercial success through the successful implementation of new ideas and initiatives.
Your submission should set out clearly your innovation, the implementation of that innovation and its impact on your association and/or your members
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
This is a new award for 2023 recognising the wide ranging partnerships that associations develop with suppliers. Any supplier to a UK trade association is eligible to enter this award and the judges encourage joint submissions from suppliers/associations.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
Your submission should state clearly why your association/supplier deserves to win this award, the services delivered, the cost of those services to the association and the impact of those services for the Association.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
This award will be given to a trade association whose board has, in the judges’ opinion, demonstrated a clear commitment to the core principles of good governance (diligence & control, transparency, responsiveness, consensus oriented, equality & inclusivity, effectiveness & efficiency, accountability, integrity, and participatory) by creating a culture of board excellence, which in turn has resulted in a positive impact on the association’s strategic or operational development, members’ experience and/or the sector which the association represents.
Good governance is fundamental to the success of any organisation, and a trade association is best placed to fulfil its mission and deliver its plans if effective governance structures, practices and protocol are in place. This requires boards to observe both the mechanics and the dynamics of good governance, i.e. to recognise the value of having in place both practical procedures and positive relationships for governing.
Your submission should state clearly why your association deserves to win this award and must clearly demonstrate the positive impact of good governance on the organisation. This may be measured in a variety of ways, such as improved financial performance, new partnerships, enhanced member benefits, an empowered staff base, or an increased influence with local or national policymakers.
The judges will be looking for an explicit link between the board’s governing style, structures and processes, and the organisation’s demonstrable impact(s).
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
The judges will be looking for a demonstration of where an association has supported their members and their industry with skills development priorities.
Your submission should provide clear evidence of where your organisation has engaged with conversations around the skills agenda and how you have supported the development of solutions to support the skills development priorities that have been identified as a result of these conversations.
The judges are keen to see examples of best practice in sourcing funding and working in partnership to support training and skills development through apprenticeship and trailblazer schemes, building relationships with Local Enterprise Partnerships, local authorities, politicians, schools, further education colleges, private training providers or trade unions and professional bodies. Where associations have developed their own solutions in house, please set out how the development of training and development was resourced internally.
In all cases please show how your skills development initiatives have been established in collaboration with your members.
Your submission should state clearly why your association deserves to win this award and must include electronic copies of a full budget for the activity as well as details of the positive impact these activities have had on your industry. Where possible, details on the reaction from your industry should also be provided.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
The judges will be looking for an association that has moved quickly and effectively to safeguard and support their members and/or the wider sector in the wake of a specific event or threat either in the UK or internationally.
Please demonstrate the PR, Public Affairs and Media strategies you activated and detail any services, products or events you put in place for your members including how these were communicated and utilised.. In your submission you should include evidence of your crisis management processes, their implementation and how you assessed their effectiveness. Statistics and testimonials would help the judges assess the impact.
Your submission should state clearly why your association deserves to win this award and must clearly demonstrate the positive impact your association has made to your members throughout the pandemic.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
This award recognises the use of technology by an association, the technology could be new or existing. The judges are looking for evidence that an association has utilised a technological solution to drive efficiency, save costs, deliver improved members services or experiences or effectively engaged/recruited new members. ‘Technology’ emcompasses all technology whether that is digital/online/software/apps proprietary or nonproprietary solutions or the use of physical equipment.
Your submission should set out the technology you used and the impact that it delivered for your association, your members and/or the wider sector. The judges will be looking for examples of where an association has delivered significant added value to their association through technology.
Please ensure that your submission details the technology, the cost of using the technology (rent/purchase/consultancy/supplier/staff time) and the impact that the technology had for your association.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
The judges will be looking for a trade association that has shown a recognised commitment to creating and applying a greater awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion in their sector and/or their association.
Your submission will demonstrate how your association has sought to improve diversity and champion the inclusion of underrepresented groups in your association and/or industry sector.
Eligible initiatives may include, but are not limited to those relating to:
Your submission should clearly state why your association deserves to win this award. You must provide clear evidence of the positive impact the initiative has had in your Association/Sector. In your submission, please ensure that a copy of the initiative documentation, budgetary information, and any other supporting material is included.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
ESG reporting and frameworks have become commonplace across the corporate world, demonstrating the increasing importance of adhering to responsible business practices. TAF is keen to recognise the contribution to the environment, society and the development of responsible business of trade associations.
The judges will be looking for evidence of association led initiatives that deliver a significant environmental, community or societal benefit.
The initiative could relate to your association, your sector or work done to support charities, or local communities either in the UK or abroad.
The award covers members work around sustainability as well as corporate social responsibility, and covers initiatives where associations are looking to mitigate the impact of their sector on the environment and communities.
Where your initiatives support the UK to meet international obligations for example around net zero targets please ensure that this is referenced in your submission.
Your submission should explain why your association deserves to win this award the issues the initiative was designed to address, the role of your association and evidence on the positive social impact the initiative had.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
The judges will be looking for a trade association employee at any level who has delivered above and beyond for their association and their sector. Within the submission, please provide full details of who is making the nomination and why. Please submit a summary describing the nominee’s work and a statement which addresses the following:
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
The judges will be looking for any exceptional individual under the age of 35 within their association or a member of their association.
Within the submission, please provide full details of who is making the nomination and why. Please submit a summary describing the nominee’s work and a statement setting out why they are destined to become a senior leader in the association sector. Your submission should address the following:
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
The judges will be looking for an exceptional leader within their association. Within the submission, please provide full details of who is making the nomination and why. Please submit a summary describing the nominee’s work and a statement which addresses the following:
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
This category is open to any UK trade association and recognises exceptional performance by a trade association in the past year.
The Judges would ask that you set our clearly why your association should win this award this year and include areas of operational excellence, exceptional leadership of your sector and specific challenges that your association has overcome. As part of your submission please include year on year data covering:
Please ensure that you include a copy of the published accounts for the current and previous year and a copy of the business plan or strategy document as agreed by the governing body as well as evidential supporting documentation.
Please ensure that you include a copy of the published accounts for the current and previous year and a copy of the business plan or strategy document as agreed by the governing body as well as evidential supporting documentation.
How to Enter
Please write your submission in a document and upload, along with any supporting documentation, via the TAF Awards online submission portal.
The full rules of entry are viewable here.
We had a record number of entries this year – thank you to everyone who entered!
The shortlist will be announced soon, but tickets are on sale now – get yours today:
